On Sunday, Romania held its presidential election rerun, after the cancellation of the previous one in December 2024.
The far-right nationalist candidate, George Simion came first with 41 per cent of the vote and will head into the second round of the election on 18 May against the current mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, who placed second, winning 21 per cent of the vote. Dan beat the candidate of the governing coalition, Crin Antonescu, by only a single percentage point. George Simion is also expected to win the second round.
The current election is a rerun of last year’s annulled vote. In November 2024, the first round of presidential elections ended with far-right Călin Georgescu taking the lead. This was followed by a controversial scandal after the press revealed his alleged ties to fascist and ultranationalist groups in Romanian. The led to the election results being annulled in December and the second round being cancelled due to alleged Russian interference on behalf of Georgescu.
George Simion is the nationalist leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a party he started in 2019 that gained an immense following during the COVID-19 pandemic through its strong anti-vaccine stance. George Simion started his political career and party as a proponent of the union between Romania and Moldova and the return to traditional conservative values.
However, since his ascent to parliament, he has retracted his support of Moldova and now advocates for the return to Romania’s pre-World War 2 borders, which would include Moldova and parts of Ukraine, contradicting international law.
He is now banned from entering both countries, with Kyiv accusing him of “systematic anti-Ukrainian activities”, and Moldova claiming he endangers national security.
Romania represents an important transit route for ammunition and aid to Ukraine, making cooperation between the bordering countries crucial for European security.
George Simion has used this to his political advantage with the BBC reporting: “Public resentment at Romanian financial support for Ukrainian refugees has been a central plank in Simion’s campaign, though he denies he is pro-Russian.”
Politico writes that he has also taken aim at the European Union, threatening to break laws he doesn’t agree with, but stressing his opinion that Romania should remain a member and that he is not pro-Russian. He has also been at the centre of numerous scandals, including allegations of tax evasion, and an incident in which he threatened to sexually assault a fellow member of parliament.
George Simion has vehemently opposed the rerun of the presidential election, protesting last year’s cancellation by not attending public debates and promising his voters that he will appoint Călin Georgescu as prime minister or step down himself to allow Georgescu to become president. Neither of his promises are constitutional or feasible, considering the parliament consists of an oppositional coalition that would likely not ratify his decision.
This election marks the first time in Romania’s post-communist political history when the main coalition parties with ties to the former communist regime haven’t had a representative in the final round of the presidential election.
Featured image via LCV/ Shutterstock.
